


mornings with you (i thought i'd never have this)

by hugducks



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: (minor) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Human, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Beta We Die Like Jocelyn, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pride, Soft Husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hugducks/pseuds/hugducks
Summary: New York, 1950s. Magnus wakes up to the scent of coffee and Alec making them breakfast, and is struck with just how lucky he is.A snapshot of domesticity in a time that maybe wasn't ready for them yet.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62





	mornings with you (i thought i'd never have this)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [@hugducks](https://hugducks.tumblr.com) on tumblr! Please indulge in this absolute fluff.
> 
> Random facts about this universe [here!](https://hugducks.tumblr.com/post/622239548438626304/1950s)

Light streamed through the window as Magnus stumbled out of bed, a smile on his face as he remembered the events of the night. A light scent of coffee wafted in from the kitchen as he threw on a robe and made his way through the loft.

A welcome sight greeted him: Alec, dressed in his good pants, tie and blazer hung haphazardly by the door. He had unbuttoned his shirt at some point, leaving the expanse of his collarbones open. The sleek gel of his usual ‘do had been disrupted by unconscious fingers, and between that and the way his suspenders sat on his shoulders, Magnus couldn’t be more in love.

“Missing church to cook me breakfast?” Magnus teased, voice still husky from sleep. “How blasphemous, darling.”

Alec gave him a look over his shoulder as he flipped the eggs, trying and failing to hide the way his lips tipped upwards. “I think my mother would kill me and drag the casket to Sunday Mass herself if I tried to miss church, sweetheart.”

“That sounds like Maryse,” Magnus admitted, reaching up to place a feather-light kiss on his lover’s cheek. He accepted his tea with thanks, letting the cup warm his hands as he basked in the serenity of the day.

Magnus took the opportunity to lean in for a fuller kiss as Alec slid the eggs on a plate, reaching up to twirl his slightly-curled locks around his hand.

Alec hummed against the kiss, fingers tracing patterns along Magnus’s arms. “Careful,” he teased, “or I may burn breakfast. We don’t want a roast beef situation again.”

Magnus pouted. “It’s not my fault you don’t let me cook.”

“I let you cook! You’re just never up in time for breakfast, and you always _distract_ me–”

“I was _standing_ in my own _kitchen_ . If that’s a problem, it sure ain’t mine.” Magnus knew he was making himself out to be a bit more innocent than he actually was, but really, could he be blamed? Alec had been wearing the most _delectable_ trousers that night, and the guests had been fairly well occupied with their wine, _and_ they had both been working long hours that week.

Was it a crime to find your lover attractive? Magnus didn’t think so. “I could always phone Biscuit, darling. She was a sober witness.” 

“Clary has much better things to do than help prove your point. Besides,” Alec said, brows raised. His voice softened as he leaned in for a kiss. “Today I just want you all to myself.”

Magnus squinted against a grin as he tilted his head up. “I can work with that.”

(It was the eyes, he had decided. The endlessly warm hazel, the way they crinkled when he was holding back a smile, their beautiful openness that was the easiest thing to read once you got to know him. It was the eyes that made him fall in love. He could remember the first time he saw Alec, the first time he lost himself in the intensity of their depths. He could remember their first morning, waking up next to each other and _knowing_ that this is what he wanted. Forever. 

No one else had those goddamned eyes, and they were the first thing that told him that Alec was his forever.)

“How’s Pandemonium?” Alec asked, pulling him away from a train of thought that likely didn’t have an end.

Magnus winced, reaching above Alec to grab the gin bottle. A sizable pour found its way into his glass. 

“That bad?”

“They’re trying to take away our alcohol license. Again,” he ground out. “Maia had to reopen the lower exit.”

A sour look crossed Alec’s face. “Which officers.”

“Darling–”

“They’re trying to hurt your business, sweetheart. Luke may be able to talk some sense into them.”

Magnus just raised his brows.

“And I may fact check against current laws,” he allowed, grinning at Magnus’s answering peck. 

“I’m so glad you kicked law school’s ass,” he murmured.

“And not a second too late,” Alec added with a dry laugh, thoughts wandering to Robert’s reaction… 

Magnus smiled a sad smile as he read the memories in his lover’s eyes. “Come here,” he said instead, tugging a protesting Alec to the couch. The two collapsed inelegantly, a tangle of lazy limbs and warm eyes. 

“I still can’t believe Maryse does double duty church,” he huffed, running a hand through his hair. 

Alec just rolled his eyes. “She loves her children and she loves her Jesus,” he drawled, “but I’m pretty sure she loves Jesus more.”

“I mean, she did bless the club–”

“‘My son-in-law may dance with the devil but he will _not_ be swayed,’” Alec mimicked. 

“Maryse means the best,” Magnus said with a fond smile.

“Yeah,” Alec agreed, “she does.”

Magnus looked at the man before him, drank up the ease at which he existed in their harsh, harsh world, and was struck with the reminder that as much as he tried, he could never have _this_. Not fully.

“Hey,” Alec whispered, cupping Magnus’s cheek with a calloused hand. “It’ll get better, sweetheart.” His thumbs brushed against the tears threatening to spill out. “Maybe not today. Maybe not for the next decade, or the decade after that. Maybe it’ll be when the soil we’re buried under is packed and cold, but it’ll get better.”

“How do you know?” Magnus asked, plagued by a history of far too much pain. 

“Because I love you,” Alec said simply. “I’ll love you no matter how history remembers us, no matter how the world sees us. And that has to count for something.”

Their fingle tangled, gold bands glinting in the sunlight.

“I love you, Magnus,” Alec whispered, voice filled with wonder, worship, and a hint of sadness.

Magnus smiled, leaning back to drink in this picture of his lover, partner – _husband_ , in all ways that mattered. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Y'know, we don't really get stories of queer couples being happy throughout history. And I think that's rather unfair, given the fact that we've existed since the beginning of humanity. Most of my queer history is self-taught; as a young, gay kid I wanted to know that I wasn't alone, and school didn't do much to help.
> 
> A lot of what I saw was stories of struggle, bittersweet victory. There was always a "but" to every win, another complication. And honestly? I don't think the world was as homophobic as we learn. I think there were pockets of happiness, hidden away, kept safe from \ prying eyes. And I believe we got to flourish in them.
> 
> I'm [@hugducks](https://hugducks.tumblr.com) on tumblr.


End file.
